Scientific Name, Family: Prunus serotina, Rosaceae
Common Names: Black Cherry
Native or invasive: Native. Special Notice! Black Cherry Leaves have Cyanide in them. Cherry is an interesting tree because while the fruit is edible and medicinal, and the inner bark is also medicinal. Most of the rest of the tree is extremely toxic. Cherry foliage and pits contain hydrocyanic acid. You can smell this when you crush a leaf or cut a part of a cherry tree–it has that distinct bitter almond smell. The leaves have the highest concentration of hydrocyanic acid, and as the leaves wilt, they produce cyanide. This makes the leaves extremely toxic to humans and most livestock animals, such as goats or sheep, cattle. If these animals would consume these leaves, there is enough toxins to kill any of these animals.
Deciduous or Evergreen: Deciduous
Image of the tree you are viewing, GPS Coordinates: 45.00326N, 92.90266W
Condition and age guess of the tree you are viewing: e.g.,
Branch Structure:
Typical height and width at maturity: 50ft to 105 ft tall by xxx ft wide
Typical longevity: 65yr.to 100yrs.
Soil, water, sunlight preferences: Prefers moist, rich, slightly acidic soil. Full Sun , Part Shade
Growth habit of roots: The root system of black cherry is predominantly spreading and shallow, even in well-drained soils. Most roots are restricted to the upper 60 cm (24 in) of soil or less, with occasional sinker roots extending to depths of 90 to 120 cm (36 to 48 in). Ref: USDA publication cited below
Images of trunk bark at early stage and mature stage: Bark is reddish-brown and smooth when young, with conspicuous, horizontal gray lines. The inner bark has a bitter almond smell. As the trees mature, the bark breaks into scales that are curled outward. If you break off one of the scales, you will find a bright orange and brown under it.
Images of mature tree: winter and summer
Image of leaf or leaves on a 12 x 12 inch grid: Leaves are approximately 6″ long by 2″ inches wide, have an ovate shape, and are oriented alternatively along the branches of the tree. the foliage an emerald green in color.
Image of leaf or leaves in fall colors: color
Flower Details: monoecious, so all trees can potentially produce pollen and fruits. Flowers having both female and male parts are located on elongated racemes produced on short leafy branches; they can be ascending, widely spreading, or descending. Each raceme is 4-6″ long and densely packed with flowers Trees spread by reseeding themselves.
Typical Pollination Mechanism: Insect pollination, self-pollination does not produce viable fruit
Images of flowers (one or two images)
Images of fruit:
Value for wildlife: Honeybees use the nectar and pollen. Animals eat Black Cherry’s fleshy fruit, and many bird species such as thrushes, woodpeckers, sparrows, bluebirds, tanagers, orioles, and Cedar Waxwings.
Utility for Humans: Most people know about cherries, but they think of the grocery store cherries – plump, juicy, red, or purple cherries from cultivated cherry trees for market sales. Wild black cherry fruits have been used for cough syrup.
Traditional uses in Native American Tree Medicine (historical). Information provided by Paul Red Elk, Lakota Medicine Man: Woodland Medicine healers spoke of Black cherries would be cooked down to make a simple cough syrup. It is known to soften mucus especially from those suffering from pneumonia and bronchitis. Its best to cook the cherries down, then strain out the pits, which is probably the easiest method of removing them.
Links to related interesting information: audio file link
Homeowner’s Corner
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